


That Which Predators Fear

by Raven_At_The_Writing_Desk



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Alternate Universe - Vampire, First Kiss, First Meetings, First Time, Horror, Lovecraftian Monster(s), M/M, Movie: Pacific Rim (2013), Sex, Siren Newt, Slow Burn, They eventually do it., Vampire & Siren AU, Vampire Hermann, Vampire/Siren AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-08 01:53:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16420112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_At_The_Writing_Desk/pseuds/Raven_At_The_Writing_Desk
Summary: A birthday Fic for @feriowind, inspired by their comic "First Meeting" (https://archiveofourown.org/works/15941384).Hermann is a cranky reclusive Vampire and Newt is a curious Siren, there's something in the water looking to tap the ancient powers of the Hiddensee bay. Can they work together to save their homes, and maybe each other?





	1. The First Sighting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [feriowind](https://archiveofourown.org/users/feriowind/gifts).



> Huge shout out to @WaldosAkimbo and my Beta Readers for help editing this! I owe you.

The colors of the ocean water slowly faded to darker shades of blue and green that heralded the night. Newt sighed, watching the ripples of the water as it filtered from his gills. He floated on his back, pressed on all sides by the cool water of the outer bay. It wasn't that he was bored exactly, more that he was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the limited decisions he seemed to have. His pod, his tribe, were tired of his constant wandering and poking around in the sealed caves and ruins of the old ones. They were overly cautious of the humans that swam close to the shore and sailed out on the water surface. He was not, and that irritated the more conservative in the pod, including those who were supposed to be his friends. They didn't understand. They never did.

He made a face at nothing but the shimmering lines of fading light from above. "Assholes," he mumbled before he jerked from his floating repose and stared up, gaping. The largest shadow he'd ever seen passed over him. At first, he'd thought it was a boat, the sailing ships the humans used, but then he saw how it moved. Sinuous, serpentine, like his own form cutting through the water, barely disturbing it. He felt the gentle wake it left as it passed above him, blocking out the dying light.

He didn't even think; he just followed it.

Following at a distance, Newt could see it was long and wide, but not scaled like his own tail. More like skin. Like a shark. Its head, if you could call it that, was a massive wedge angling up to the surface much like a fin. Round protuberances lined either side of the vertical fin, and Newt guessed they must be eyes, though he had no way to be sure. And the mouth! Or rather the massive horizontal gash filled with spikes, trailed a strange blue liquid as it swam.

_ What the abyss was it? _ He wondered as he kept his distance. 

The thing didn't seem to notice him, or if it did, didn't care. So Newt kept up, making notes in his head, memorizing the thing as he swam. He vaguely noticed where it was going towards the Foreboding Bay. Newt called it that because every time he swam into it, which was frequently, he always felt a general sense of unwelcome. To him, that meant there must be something worth finding, but he'd yet to discover it. Maybe this thing would be able to?

Newt felt the shiver of power as he passed the invisible barrier that divided the bay from the sea. The creature seemed to notice it too. It turned just as the water became shallow and Newt found himself being pulled along a violent current. Newt gave a yelp of surprise as the creature's vast size created a mini whirlpool that rolled Newt under. Down he went and he scraped along the bottom of the bay, smacking his head.

His gills worked harder as Newt fought against rising panic. He surged up from the bottom of the bay without thinking, heading for the surface, and breached to breathe. He broke brackish water with a noisy gasp, flicking his tail to keep himself in place, shaking his head clear of stars. 

Had the creature known he was there? Was it an attack? Or had Newt, once again, gotten too close to something he shouldn't and was simply pulled under? Newt turned a slow circle, trying to figure out where he was.

As Newt gathered his wits, a black bat-like figure sliced across the sky, darker than the night and larger than any bird or bat he'd ever seen. It dove for him, and Newt squeaked, trying to dive again. Something grabbed him though, squeezing a great tight fist, and lifted him into the air.

"Did you think you could outrun me, Little Stalker?" A voice like the night itself echoed around Newt, bringing that thick sense of unwelcome with it.

He struggled, cursing his luck tonight. Still, he wasn't going down so easy, not by drowning or being eaten like a helpless fish. He locked his eyes on the black mass before him and took a deep breath.

The lyrics poured from him. Even squeezed and rattled as he was, the words were perfect. The melody full of the magic of the Siren. The figure holding him froze, as if mesmerized. Then it grinned with white fangs flashing in the moonlight.

"Your song doesn't work on me, Siren," the voice said, only this time Newt could see it was the man talking and not the night air. He ceased struggling briefly, his curiosity overcoming him again.

"Wh-what are you?" Newt asked, his fear ebbing. The man said nothing and just took in Newt with dark eyes.


	2. When the Two Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Herman and Newt meet and have a discussion about fortune.

The presence was back, again.  This time, it appeared to have brought a friend . Hermann focused on it, letting his aura surround it. Usually that was enough to drive any living thing away, but this… _ thing _ …was more persistent than most.

He put his hands on either side of the notes he’d been making for his ley line map. He took a slow breath trying to ignore the feeling of having someone there who wasn’t invited. He hated being interrupted. And so far into his studies at that! If his predictions were accurate and his equations correct  — which of course they were — h e’d have the exact formula for permanently tapping the ley line nexus his manor house was built on top of… _ damn it all _ !

The new presence distracted him further. It was...hungry, and it made him uneasy to have it so close to his nexus. He wasn’t the only creature capable of tapping the energy of the ley lines, and he knew the nexus would be an attractive target.  He let the breath go with a frustrated growl when neither moved. If he couldn't push them away with his force of will, then he'd remove them physically himself!

With a dramatic swirl of his cape, Hermann pulled the shadows around him and took to the air. It was time to show whoever this was why you didn’t screw with a vampire on his home turf.

 

***

 

Now that he held the interesting thing... Creature? Man? A long time had passed since he last saw a Siren in the Hiddnesee sea. Yet here he held one securely up in the air. It thrashed angrily in the fist made of shadows and will, coiling its tail around the wrist, trying to claw and bite. When that didn't work it had burst into the most mesmerizing song Hermann had ever heard. If he had still been human, or if the night hadn't been protecting him, he might have been lost to the violent suggestions in the lyrics. Hermann had the briefest thought to keep and cage the creature like a songbird for his own entertainment. Then he remembered the constant annoyance of the creature pushing his boundaries and the larger, more ominous presence that had sent him flying out of his castle.

"Wh-what are you?" the Siren asked, curiosity replacing the fear-driven anger in its sea-green eyes. He said nothing, taking in the Siren's long, curiously dry, honey-brown hair. If Hermann recalled, Sirens were water repellent with a softer version of shark-like skin making them sleek, fast swimmers. Their scaled tails were particularly strong as well, armored. This one's scales shimmered in the moonlight, Cerulean blue and gold, with crimson tips to each scalloped shape. Its sharp fins were the same lovely crimson, and this particular Siren seemed to accent all that bright color with ropes of sea glass and shell beads and golden cuffs draped over its flat torso.

Flat? Was it a male of the species then? The females had breasts, he remembered that much, though that was really the only sexual distinction the species seemed to have.

"What I'd like to know is why you are stalking me," he said, turning the Siren in his fist to get a better look at it from a fresh angle. The Siren gave little squeak of protest.

"I wasn't stalking you!" it said. Hermann mused that it sounded male; did that matter?

"Please, do you take me for a fool? I've felt your presence for weeks and no matter how unpleasant I make it for you, you come back. This time you even brought a second with you!" Hermann gave the little creature a shake.

"I was just checking the place out!" the Siren said. Hermann narrowed his eyes and the creature flailed a little. "I swear! I know the bay is part of the empty castle up there and there's this feeling of dread the closer I get! I mean, why wouldn't I go investigate that?" The creature actually sounded affronted. Hermann stared, stunned at the Siren.

"Did-did you not think that maybe it felt that way because you shouldn't go and investigate?" Hermann asked, unable to comprehend the absurdity of what he'd just heard.

The Siren crossed his arms and simply stuck his nose up at that. "All great discoveries come with risk. Fortune favors the brave!"

"And you are a brave one?" Hermann asked, processing all this with an astonished expression. "Do you know what happens to the 'brave' when they knock on the doors of a vampire? I might have just killed you immediately!"

The stubborn look in the Siren's face change instantly to open interest. "Wait? You're a vampire?" A second thought stuck the little creature. "And you're the one making things all ominous around here?"

"Yes.” Hermann wasn't sure anything he'd just said had gotten through. He wondered at the age of the creature; perhaps it was a juvenile?

"Oh! I've heard about you! Well, about vampires anyway, but I've never actually known one! Are there a lot of you? Can you shapeshift? Is this magic?" The Siren tapped his talon fingers on the shadow fist holding it. Its long tail was twitching now with excitement and even its hair seemed to have a life of its own.

Hermann pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a long time since he had to deal with children of any sort, and he really hadn't been good at then. He racking his memory for what he could recall about Sirens.

"You're awfully curious. Doesn't your kind like to keep to themselves?" He hoped the question would shut the young Siren up. Instead, it appeared to infuriate him.

"So what if I am!" the Siren waved his arms. "There's more to this world than the sea! There are land and sky, and even the stars! My kind used to swim far and wide and explore and invent and search! I'm going to be like them! I'm not going to hide in a cave just because of what may or may not happen to me if I don't!"

Hermann was again stunned. The little Siren seemed to have two settings, curious and determined. He chuckled softly, Hermann could already tell this was an argument the Siren had revisited many times before .

"The other presence that was with you," he asked. "What was it?" It felt old, and unfriendly, and perhaps evil. 

The Siren blinked, distracted by the sudden change in topic.

"I don't know. It was this huge sea creature! It looked a lot like a Langhalswal but it had a wedge-shaped head, and eyes that ran down the sides of its face." The Siren was gesturing as he spoke, recalling the thing he'd seen. Hermann was both amused and impressed as the Siren described it. "Then I followed it here.  I wanted to see why it chose the bay,  when it turned around," The Siren made a turning gesture with both hands, "the current pulled me right under! It rolled me like some tadpole fresh from the hatchery and I smacked my head on the bottom of the bay." He looked up at Hermann. "Then I swam out here to get a breath of air and that's when you grabbed me."

Hermann nodded along, absorbing the Siren's tale. There was something there, some long distant memory triggered by the story, still foggy in the mists of time. The way the Siren described the creature seemed familiar: the blue spittle, the eyes, the massive form. Still, he couldn't recall it perfectly. With a small shrug, he set the Siren back into the water.

"Huh? You're letting me go?" The Siren looked up at him surprised.

"I thought you might have been something sinister, like a hunter, but it seems you are just an open and curious mind. This is something to be nurtured and admired." Hermann smiled at the young Siren, then he narrowed his eyes. "Though if you interrupt my experiments again, I will not be as forgiving, Siren," he turned around to leave. 

"It's Newt!" the Siren shouted and Hermann turned around. "My name is Newt." 

Hermann hovered in the air over Newt a moment, then inclined his head lightly. 

"You may call me Hermann then." He looked at the young Siren once more. "I do hope you find what you are looking for, Newt. Just remember, fortune may favor the bold, but that does you no good if you are dead." 

Newt just smiled at him. "Whatever you say, Hermann." He waved and Hermann turned and melted into the night, returning to his lab. 


	3. Hiddensee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermann just wants to run a few errands, but sea monsters are the talk of the town.

Hermann almost managed to get his errands ran in town without being pestered by the villagers, almost. Then the head councilman spotted him. Hermann swore under his breath as the fat man waddled up to him.

The councilman carried a cane, some thick rosewood monstrosity with an elaborate golden knot of roses on the top. Far too flashy to be practical, unlike Hermann's own walking instrument, a necessity in his current state. Hermann grasped the understated but cleverly carved silver sea serpent that made up the grip of his much more practical cane. Decoration had its place, but not at the expense of function. 

The councilman finally made his way across the cobblestones after pausing for two omnibuses to pass and stood puffing as Hermann tried to clip away from him. He wasn't as agile in the day as he was at night, despite the entirety of the town of Hiddensee being part of his domain. It was a daily trial, and a small sacrifice, he thought, for the reward of immortality.

“Herr Gottlieb,” the councilman began.

“Doctor,” Hermann said, not even glancing at the man.

His name was Schreiber, and it was his great-grandfather who had led the mob who had burned down Hermann's first manor house and the extensive library he'd collected. He knew it was almost eighty years after the fact, but he was still rather bitter about the whole thing.

Schreiber paused, blinking. He pulled at his high collar and the fancy cravat inexpertly pinned there. Hermann gave the man a bored look.

“Y-yes, Herr Doctor.” Schreiber swallowed as he waddled to keep up with Hermann's brisk pace. “You see, the villagers have been reporting, well, strange activities in the waters around the insel lately, and they seem to be of some concern. The fishermen are admitted they are seeing...monsters.”

Hermann tapped his cane impatiently on the brick laid sidewalk. Monsters in the sea? He thought of Newt; hardly what he would call a monster. Though he supposed he had less to worry about than these fragile creatures. Still, the Siren had mentioned the Langhalswal-like creature, which was a ridiculous fantasy, to begin with.

“And you’ve come to me with this for what reason?” Hermann asked, not bothering to contain his contempt. He was the last person any sane human being should come to for help like this, and not just because of his proclivities at night. Though the current villagers had no clue about his true nature, they were no less under his influence. 

“Well, it’s just that, in the past, that is, your grandfather, Herr Doctor,” The man seemed to lose the words he needed. Hermann rolled his eyes. He knew where this was going. In the past, his ‘family’ provided information to the villagers when it came to supernatural issues. He’d done that because, in the past, he’d had a better relationship with the locals. That was before the collective villagers, led by Schreiber's ancestor, decided he was monster himself and tried to kill him. Hermann held grudges, and after he’d pulled himself out of the ashes of his once regal home, he’d shut the town out. A simple projected aura of disdain and unfriendliness was enough to keep the villagers at bay, except for this fat little man. He looked over Schreiber; perhaps there was more to this man than he appeared. 

“So we wondered if you might have some information that could be helpful,” Schreiber managed to finish. Hermann could see the discomfort Schreiber was in.  He gave Schreiber a tight-lipped and dismissive glance.

“No,” Hermann said as he turned, balancing with the silver-headed cane.

“N-No?” The man stammered scrambling to keep up. “But, Herr Doctor!” Hermann could be rather quick for a man with a limp and Schreiber chased after him.

“You wish me to give you information of Sea Monsters?” Hermann scoffed. “I can’t give you information on the imaginary.” He waved the man off like an annoying fly. He wasn't about to admit in public he believed in anything beyond the natural realm. “What you need is science, sir.”

“Oh, y-yes of course!” Schreiber walked beside Hermann. “Can...can you help us with that?”

“An education would provide more help than I intend to give you,” Herrmann found himself blocked in on the cobblestone streets. Carriages were driving by and men and women in their afternoon attire wandered the street. It was a typical afternoon in Hiddensee and no one seemed overly concerned with monsters in the water this far from the shore.

“Please, Herr Doctor. The town council wanted me to persuade you to help. We’ve tried everything to assuage the fishermen, but they simply won't go out while they think there is a monster on the loose, and the ferry boats have cut back to only sailing once a day. The town is losing revenue if it keeps up…” 

Schreiber seemed to be at a loss for words, but Hermann understood. The town depended on fishing and tourism. No boats going out meant no money for the town. He thought it a fitting demise for the descendants of fools who dared to burn down his home.

The carriages cleared and Hermann found himself staring at Pfeiffer's Dance Academy. The small building nestled between the Apothecary and the shoemaker looked as delicate as the dancers it produced. There was a small class of girls stretching before expensive glass mirrors.  Hermann paid to have them installed many years ago, as a reward to the school that had trained his late wife. What would happen to the school if the town fell on hard times? Pfeiffer was renowned as a teacher, but he didn't have to have his studio here on this insel. Would he move it elsewhere if the money began to dry up?

The Apothecary also gave him pause. It was a new addition to the town, the smaller Apothecary being sold to Lars Mayer. Mayer, which was a family name of Hermann's descendants. Not Vanessa's children, but his first wife Hertha, who had managed nearly seven children into adulthood before the last perished with her in childbirth. Of those seven, three had remained in the town for the last two hundred years, and the Mayer line had managed to maintain a high amount of respect and prestige. What would become of them if the town was left to rot and wash away?

"Herr Doctor?" Schreiber asked. Hermann was aware the had been standing there too long.

"Whatever knowledge there may have been that my grandfather could have imparted to you, your ancestors burnt to ash nearly two generations ago," Hermann said, stepping into the now cleared road. "I have given you my answer, Councilman  Schreiber ." He looked at the man without an ounce of pity. "Good day."


	4. What the Hunting Party Brought.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sirens encounter something strange, and Newt wants to take it apart.

Newt stared at the thing that hovered in the water surrounded by other Sirens still carrying their hunting gear. Herc didn't look happy about it. To be fair, no one really did. It was a strange thing to find, even out here in the deeper parts of the sea, but Newt recognized it instantly. The Langhalswal-like creature, only significantly smaller.

"What is it?" Herc asked, clearly repulsed.

"I've seen it before!" Newt said, jutting forward. The hunting party moved aside and Herc glared at him.

"You have?"

"Yes, closer to the shore. Only the one I saw was a big Langhalswal and rolled me under with the current its body made when it moved." Newt was close to the thing now, counting the eyes that lined either side of the wedge that was its head. This one was only about as big as an adult Siren, though twice as wide. "It was massive," he mumbled as he began to check the creatures spiked teeth. "This one must be a baby."

He was oblivious to the disgusted faces the other Sirens' made as he examined the creature. There was a lot that could be learned here if he could take the damn thing apart. He needed to get it back to his lab.

"Only a baby?" The deep tone of their elder leader said, and Newt had the good sense to look up.

"Staker, uh...well yes. As I said, the one I saw the other cycle was huge." Newt thrashed his tail excitedly. "Please, elder. I request that I be able to take this for examination."

The pod grumbled amongst themselves as dark-scaled Stacker hovered before them. He looked from the strange creature to Newt's set jaw, then sighed.

"If I said no, would you just wait until all dark and steal the body away?" Staked gestured knowingly between Newt and the dead thing. Newt tried not to smirk. Elder Staker, of all the elders, had always been slightly more forgiving of Newt's strange hobbies.

"Fortune favors the bold?" he said and Stacker nodded.

"We mustn't eat it. We don't know what it is. Let Newt have it and see what he can learn about it."

"Elder!" Herc swam forward, outrage in his wake. "It took five of my Jagers to bring it down!"

"Are they wounded?" Stacker asked and Herc paused, clearly unhappy.

"Yes elder, but no deaths."

Stacker nodded, "Let Newt see what he can learn, If he's as clever as he likes to tell us he is, perhaps he can find a better way for us to kill these things."

Herc turned to look at Newt, who blanched just a bit.

"I-I...yes, that's something I could do." Newt nodded accepting the order from his elder. Stacker made a shooing gesture.

"Go on," Stacker said as he put a talon hand on Herc's shoulder. "Let us go check on the wounded?"

He gently guided the other Siren away and Newt swam over to grab the netting tether to drag the creature. He knew no one would offer to help, so he didn't bother to ask. He was strong enough to pull this thing anyway, and the excitement of being able to dissect the creature fueled him.

He could do what the elder wanted. He could find ways to kill the beast. While he was doing it, he could study it, learn from it, and that was rewarding enough. It was too bad that no one would really appreciate it though, the work he planned to do. No one down here anyway. He paused, treading water as he looked towards Hermann's bay. There was at least one person who might understand and appreciate this.

Newt smiled to himself then staggered as the floating thing bumped into him. With an eager chuckle, he pulled the thing towards the cliffs and his own lab.

 

***

 

Hermann flipped through his old diaries. His library may have burned, but his personal books and a few very valuable pieces were spared. Small miracle that, as he'd almost been consumed by the flames as he flew in and out trying to save as many books as he could. Still, he was beginning to think that the volume he was going to need wasn't going to be here. He'd began to write everything he learned down a long time again, realizing that with so much life ahead of him, there was no way he could remember it all. But even with his careful indexing and detailed notes, he wasn't finding anything that sounded like the thing Newt had described with so much open wonderment in his sea-green eyes.

Hermann paused. Why did the color of the man’s eyes, Newt’s eyes, stick out in his mind? Hadn’t he just told himself he’d dismissed the man? He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t like him to get fatigued this early in the evening. His gaze wandered to the corner where his silver-headed cane rested, the image of an emerald-eyed sea monster as the grip. He scowled at the coincidence. It was rumored that his family had once bred with mermaids, that the sea was part of his bloodline. It seemed to hold some truth as his family before him made their fortunes on the water, and his descendants after him were fishermen, sailors, and merchants. The Mayer's being a slight deviance, but even Lars maintained a large home near the cliffs much further down the insel from his great-great-grandfather.

But none of that explained why his thoughts drifted occasionally back to the brown haired Siren and his enthusiastic demeanor. Maybe that there explained it. There was so little excitement in his life anymore, maybe seeing that in Newt's face had called to something inside him?

As if summoned by the thought, Hermann felt Newt's presence seep into his awareness. Once more the man was in the bay, this time alone. Hermann started to get irritated. Could this man not take a hint? Then he surprised himself as he realized he was glad for the visit.

"Good god," he said to the empty room. The light of the gas lamp caught the twinkle of the green-eyed sea serpent as if it was laughing at him.

 

***

 

He pulled the shadows around him and launched himself out of his laboratory window to snatch the Siren from the waters. He pulled up short when he saw Newt waiting for him in a rocky alcove. He was singing, something fast and melodic that Hermann hated to admit was actually very pleasant. Something lay beside him on the rocks where Newt looked all the world like he was sunning himself, even though there was no sun at night.

Newt spotted Hermann in the sky and waved. His happy smile split his face wide.

“Vampire Man!” Newt called. “Hey, I brought you a thing!”

Hermann frowned at the name. _Vampire Man_ , he thought. _How juvenile_.

He thought about just leaving the Siren to sit there on his rock and dry up like seaweed. Curiosity won him over though and he hovered over the rock, looking down on the smiling Newt.

“Hey, check it out!” Newt pulled the massive dead thing over to him and held the head of it up for Hermann to look at. “I got you one of the Langhalswal-looking things!” He looked far too impressed with himself. Hermann settled on the rock and looked down at it quizzically.

“A what?” he asked, looking the creature over.

The beast was only slightly larger than Newt, but twice as wide. It indeed had a wedge-shaped head, that now that Hermann could see it, looked to be made of bone. The rows of round eyes looked empty, and he supposed the creature had to be dead. Notably, with the massive gash down its underbelly.

"Watch out for the blue stuff, especially around the mouth. The blood and saliva are like acid, and they get stronger they're exposed to air." Newt gestured at the spike-like teeth from which a forked bluish tongue protruded. "I think it might be useful at some point in my other experiments, but I need to find something that can contain it."

"This is the thing you mentioned the other day?" Hermann asked.

"Yeah. Only that thing was much larger. Like..." Newt seemed to be looking for a different way to describe it. "Like... one of your big sailing boats," Newt said. "Only, you know, with these flippers and that tail."

"You dissected it?" Hermann recognized the precise cuts on the creature and the careful incisions where skin samples had been taken. Newt gave him a look but nodded.

"Of course," he said. "How else am I going to learn from it? It's not like I can ask it questions like you." Hermann gazed up at Newt who was looking at him the way he’d just been looking at the dead sea monster.

“I’m not some creature for you to observe, Newt.” Hermann stood up quickly, offended. Newt waved his hands back and forth.

“No, no, no!” Newt looked frantic. “I just, it was, I mean.” Newt stilled his hands. “I really want to know more about _You_.”

Hermann paused again. The way Newt said ‘you’ made a little thrill run through him. He sniffed, dismissing it. The last thing he needed was some half-fish man floundering around his property. Newt looked a little worried then, gave him a weak smile.

"A-anyway, I took it to my lab to discuss it and found that it's like a mix of different sea creatures all in one, with some wicked mutations. I've never seen these things naturally, so I guess...it must be some kind of chimera." Newt rubbed his nose. "you know?"

Hermann looked amazed.

"You have a lab?" He didn't mean to sound as amazed as he had, and that appeared to offend Newt. "I mean, where? How? Is it...underwater?" The thought had never occurred to him that a lab could be underwater.

"No, but yes, not exactly." Newt sniffed rubbing this arms, arms Hermann noticed were tattooed in an interesting series of lines, like a tiger. "It's an old lab left behind by the ancestors. It's partly in the water and partially out." he sounded hurt. "DId you just think I was some fool?"

"No," Hemann lied. "I thought...ahm...Well, I didn't know what to think, I've never really dealt with someone like you before." Hermann felt his face warm, but that appeared to get a smile from Newt.

"Likewise." He grinned. "I thought you would find this interesting. At least, I hoped you would. I don't have anyone back at my pod I can share this with. They all think I'm strange."

"I imagine you are a bit," Hermann said looking the creature over again, he did find it interesting, and what was more, he could see why the fishermen and the ferrymen refused to sail with things like this in the water. Perhaps he and Newt could find a way to push the things back?

"I...um...brought some notes with me. I, hope you don't mind." Newt seemed shy and Hermann looked intrigued.

"Notes? For me?" He watched as Newt pulled a bead woven satchel over towards him. It had been obscured by the best until now, and Hermann was stunned a the detail on it. Glass and shell beads were woven together with some kind of shimmering line. The image of an octopus, no, a Kraken was emblazoned on the bag. Newt chuckled as he pulled out what looked every bit like a documents folder and handed it to Hermann.

"You really don't know much about my kind do you?" He said and Hermann realized he'd been staring. He smiled softly.

"No, but I really want to know more about you," he said taking the folder. Newt blushed, and it gave his iridescent skin a warm color, like sunlight on mother of pearl. Their hands brushed as they exchanged the folder, and Hermann noticed how silky Newt's fingers were.

"You're kind of warm," Newt said sounding surprised. Hermann smirked.

"To you, I suppose I am, but I'm actually quite cold to the touch." He placed a hand over his still heart. "There's no blood in me, not this evening anyway."

"Oh yes!" Newt leaned in closer. "You don't smell like a human, or like the dead. I wondered, well because we eat humans too. But you just drink the blood right?" Hermann sighed, but he was none-the-less amused.

"Yes, though I don't have to kill my food source."

"Oh," Newt made a little embarrassed grimace and his shark teeth caught the moonlight. "Not an option for us really."

"Understandable." Hermann suddenly found he couldn't keep his eyes off Newt, even with the man's notes in his hand, all he wanted was to watch Newt. "There are...stories...about humans and Sirens...well..."

"Mating?" Newt looked up again, "Yeah, the Elders think it's fantasy, but the records the ancestors kept, clearly talk about it."

"Ancestors?" Hermann asked, "the same that built your lab?"

"Yes, they used...well 'magic' is the best way I can think of to describe it. " Newt looked like he didn't like the word. "But they made things that allowed us to change our form to one more like humans, and vice versa. At least for a limited time."

Hermann thought that over. Then it was possible. He didn't notice he was staring again into Newt's gem-bright eyes till Newt leaned in, his lips brushing Hermann's. Hermann jerked back, a hand going across his mouth. Newt scooted back.

"S-sorry, I-I just, I've seen other humans do th-that. I should have..." Newt stammered and Hermann felt his face warm with what little blood he had.

"You want to kiss me?" He said stunned. "Wh-why?"

Newt pushed himself back and into the water and tugged the dead thing in with him. "I just...I thought...you're handsome, and I thought since you were staring at me and talking about mating..." He shrugged already shoulder deep in the water. "L-let's just forget that ok? I feel like we need to work together on this, thing, and I don't want you to get the wrong idea?"

"Me?" Hermann said touching his lips where the two had met. "Newt I..."

But Newt had already swam away without a sound. Hermann sat for a long time remembering the feel of those soft, iridescent lips on his own. How was he expected to forget _that_?


	5. Lab of the Ancients

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt retreats to his lab to lick his emotional wounds, only to be visited by unwelcome guests.

Newt flickered around his lab, driven by embarrassed agitation. What had he been thinking?  _ Idiot _ . Just because he'd seen the humans kiss before didn't mean Hermann would want to do it.  Though he had seen two human males mate on the ships a few times and there were a few that would come to the smaller insels around Hiddensee to do far more than kiss . It looked like they really enjoyed it too. He paused in his pointless movements and ran a hand down his scaled tail. He kinda lacked certain features for such activities as the ones he’d witnessed. Perhaps that was too much for Hermann? Perhaps Newt was just too strange? 

Angry at himself again, he flitted around more, securing the creature in a container made of glass and pulling up his notes.

Was it so bad that he wanted to try the kissing thing? He  _ had  _ tried it once before, but that was with a terrified young sailor that they later ate. He wasn't positive that counted. Besides, it hadn't been that pleasant. Something in him was sure it would be far more enjoyable with Hermann...if he hadn't messed up so badly!

He buried himself in his notes, hoping translating the notes left behind by his ancestors would help dull the feelings of rejection. He signed, flipping through the seaweed-vellum sheets. He flipped his tail in frustration. He wasn't finding anything on the creatures. Maybe he was looking for the wrong thing? The ancients didn’t always write about things the way Newt would have. 

His mind drifted to something he’d found the other day, and now with his new embarrassment, he wondered about it more. He'd told Hermann about the ancients use of magic, and Hermann had asked about the Sirens taking human form. Well, not only did the ancients have ample notes on that, he'd even found the very artifact it would take for him to assume a human form. He pulled the shiny brass and blue glass amulet across his desk. Even in the phosphorescence water lights, it glinted with imbued magic. He wanted to try it but was afraid. What if it didn't work right and he only transformed halfway? What if it hurt? What if he did it in the water and drowned?

He'd wanted to try it around Hermann anyway, who he trusted for some unknown reason, but what if it made him too human and Hermann ate him? Though Hermann had said that he didn't need to kill his food. 

Newt shivered at the thought. Sirens enjoyed a bit of biting along with tail rubbing. The thought of Hermann doing such to him was...exciting. He rubbed the amulet. Maybe he could show it to Hermann anyway, as a show of faith? Maybe he could work on the rest after that?

There was a change in the water that flowed into the lab, as if a great deal of it was being displaced. Newt put the amulet over his head and swam out to look. The water had gone full dark and he knew it wasn't that far along in the wave cycle. Curious, he swam out of the carved rock entrance of the lab, looking up cautiously. People could say what they wanted, but he wasn't a complete idiot.

The massive form of the Langhalswal creature sored overhead. Newt shrank back some. Why was the thing here? He looked back to where the smaller version of the thing was and wondered if they could sense each other. He felt the water shift again and his hair flared around him. He turned slowly and his mind froze as he looked into the twin rows of eyes. They pulsed with a brilliant blue light and he felt as if he went blind.

Ghost images danced before him, fading in and out. People he knew and events he remembered from his childhood. It wasn't as if he was reliving his memories, but more like the creature was viewing them, harvesting them from his mind. He tried to pull his memories back, to stop the thing from going through them like a sand through a sieve, but he couldn't.

He felt himself begin to shake uncontrollably, his eyes rolling up, and his mind going blank. The last thought he had was how he was sorry he'd never get to try the amulet with Hermann.


	6. Horror in the Port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermann learns more about the creatures from the bay and doesn't like any of it. Armed with Newt's notes and his own recollections, can he fend off the Horror in the port?

The Horror struck just before evening. Hermann felt it hit like a hurricane. The force of it knocking him sideways, his cane skidding out from under him. He gripped the plaster wall to keep himself upright. It felt similar to the thing from the bay, but so much more violent. He forced his consciousness away from the presence and focused back on the small study.

He blinked and let his eyes refocus on the book he'd been carrying. He'd finally located the notebook he'd written down the information he was looking for. Ancient accounts of contact with great sea monsters. Not simply Krakens, but things that had no real name, just descriptions of destruction. Whole towns whipped out by horrors from the sea, monsters that seemed to have no vulnerabilities. He wanted to compare it to what Newt had written during his investigations with the small creature he'd dissected. 

Hermann quickly snapped up his cane and book. Coffee and careful reading were pointless now.   He suddenly had an unexpected need to rush out and see what he could do for the town. His town. Vanessa’s town. He slammed the book besides the notes on his desk. Now was not the time to read it was a time for action!

_ And do what, foo _ l? He asked himself.  _ You can't even walk properly, and you don't know how to kill them yet. _

Dusk clung on and it caged his strength, but he couldn't wait as the thing rampaged through the town. He hastily flipped through the book. Wishing the knowledge he needed to fill the pages. The sound of the paper slicing into his nerves. 

Then it was there, notes explaining the Horror wasn't immortal, just very, very hardy. Well, no concern. He remembered a large, sturdy harpoon in the storage rooms below the manor. A gift from better times, when the town and he were friendly.  He left the page open, marking it with a weighted page rest.  He hobbled towards the stairs, then down to collect his weapon.

 

***

 

Newt's eyes fluttered as he slowly came to, his body bumping against the side of the entrance to his lab. He felt like his brain had been boiled in a hydrothermal vent while it was still in his skull. He vaguely remembered the unholy blue of the thing's eyes and the flickering of memories. What had the damn thing wanted? Was he hallucinating when he heard it speaking to him? Had it promised him things, knowledge?

Newt shook that off and groaned as a headache lit up behind his eyes. He'd never felt this crappy before, even when he had actually gotten trapped in a hydrothermal vent and almost boiled to death.

There had been some slight benefit to it though. He was pretty sure he'd seen into the creature's mind too if a mind was what it was. He'd seen the bay, seen the town, and somehow knew that the thing was going to attack there after it was done doing whatever it was doing to him.

Newt looked back into his lab and saw the carcass of the smaller creature was still floating in its glass tank. He'd learned a few things and written them in his notes to Hermann, he hoped his notes would be useful in fighting this thing. The amulet bumped against his chest and he had a horrible feeling. Newt wasn't sure what he could do, but he knew he had to warn Hermann. He bolted from the lab, swimming as fast as he could to get to the bay in time.

 

***

 

Dusk still spurpressed Hermann’s powers as he struggled to pull the large harpoon out of the storage below the manor house. The space itself led out to his private bay through a cave system of sorts. When the tide was particularly high, the water could flood almost all the way up to the shelves and platforms kept dry on stilts. 

Hermann wasn't concerned about this right now. He leaned his cane against the damp stone walls. His limp pronounced, but manageable. He tossed loose objects aside, leaving things in disarray in his search. He gave a little cry of victory when he spied it, reaching greedily for the wrought iron form.

He hefted the harpoon, gauging the strain it would cause to his limited abilities right now. What he was most concerned about was being able to carry the harpoon and fly. But he had no choice, and full dark would come.

Steeling himself for the strain, he pulled the shadows slowly around himself, fighting for each vapor. Shrouded, he forced himself airborne and flew along the tunnel to the bay, gaining speed as he did so.

A fast-moving bolt of black shot into the sky over the bay. In his haste and strain, Hermann completely missed Newt waving frantically at him from the bay.

 

***

 

The Hiddensee port was in shambles. Boats were shattered like the remnants of a child's tantrum. The piers were broken in the middle, and chunks floated in the turbulent waters like flotsam after a storm. Villagers screamed, and even from his height, Hermann could hear the panic in their voices. Hermann stopped himself, hiding against the sky. The last thing he needed was to be seen by the villagers right now. 

All that was forgotten when he got his first glimpse of the Horror destroying the port. 

Easily as large and wide as the clipper ships now in ruins, the Horror reared his wedge head from the water, it's mouth gaping, wood splinters sticking from between its spiked teeth. Hermann paused, simply astonished by the size of the beast. It roared, and the water around it shivered. It moved and its massive body created waves. Hermann felt the weight of the harpoon in his arms, and wondered how well his plan would work?

_ It will work _ , he thought.  _ Your equations are never wrong. _

He needed height to compensate for his flagging strength. He soared up, high into the sky then angled himself down. The horror looked up as he began his descent and Hermann had the awful realization that just as he could sense it, it could sense him. Its eyes glowed a brilliant blue and he felt tendrils of power grasping at his mind. He shoved them aside mentally, he was no neonate, he was a full-grown vampire and in his own domain. How dare this thing try to challenge him here!

A more reasonable part of his brain pointed out that this thing was easily a hundred times his size and its head looked to be made of hard bone. He wouldn't be able to pierce that skull no matter how much momentum he had. He needed the joint behind the head, but unless the Horror turned its head, he wasn't going to make it.

Then song filled the air.

The strange lyrics filtered up to Hermann's ears, and even if he didn't understand them, he could feel the slight pull of the music. The remaining villagers stopped their panic and stood, looking out to the water, all of them now frozen in place. 

Miraculously, the horror turned its head and looked out into the deep water, its neck now exposed. Hermann felt a thrill of triumph as night finally came completely. He pulled his arm back and took aim, then with the strength born of the night and his bond with the land, he threw the heavy harpoon down.

Its impact rocked the beast like a bullet. It staggered, as such a huge beast only could. Waves created from its death-throes surged over the shore and soaked the stunned villagers, pulling several out with them. Hermann watched the beast as it went still, its luminescent blue blood spreading in the water. He remembered what Newt said about it being corrosive, and he willed the water to wash the beast away. 

It took quite a bit of doing, forcing the water to carry the massive body away. The strain from earlier and now moving this massive amount of water, it threatened to drain him prematurely for the night. He shrouded himself and landed on a rock outcropping just on the edge of his area of influence and shoved the water and the beast one last time. It drifted past him into the open where the sea itself pulled it away. He watched the strange creature as it washed beyond the port, it's image forever etched in his memory now. 

Hermann slumped on the rocks, weary and drained. He looked back at the port, searching for the lithe form of the Siren. He hadn't heard Newt since the Horror died, and he was worried the Siren might have gotten caught in the monster’s violent death. 

With his energy waning, he closed his eyes and let his sense seek out the presence of the little Siren. A few moments passed, and the sounds of the villagers in the bay drifted to him. Sobs and calls for help filtered past his ears. It filled him with a pity he hadn’t had in years, the frightened cries of children, for they were all children compared to him. He could do little for them though. Exposing himself to them would only encourage questions later. But he could hold the waters still to make rescue easier.

What he really wanted was any sign of life from Newt, the brave Siren who owed these people nothing and still came to help. Finally, he found it and focused on it tightly, taking to the sky to see. Like a bird of prey, he swooped towards Newt, spotting his limp form in the water, and snatched him up. 

Without a second thought, Hermann flew them back to his manor. He knew he needed to hide them from the panicked village. They would be looking for anything to blame for the Horror in the port, and Hermann was not going to feed Newt to them.


	7. Partnership

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events in the port, Hermann tries his best to help Newt heal. This gives them a moment to get to know each other better and to discuss a possible partnership for the future.

Newt slowly came around for the second time that day. This time he felt drained as hell, ravenous, and very disoriented as the cave he was in wasn't one he recognized. He tried to sit up and found himself tethered in the water. Panic seized him and he thrashed around grabbing at the binding that looped under his arms and over his chest. He gripped it and pulled frantically at it, trying to rip whatever the binding was apart.

"Calm down, you're safe," Newt tilted his head back since he couldn't turn to see the speaker. The upside down image of Hermann standing with a silver-headed cane made him settle just a little.

"Wh-why have you tied me up?" He said, looking back down at the binding and seeing it was really just a simple loop keeping him in place. Hermann knelt down and unhooked something behind Newt and he drifted free in a shallow rock-lined pool.

"The water in the cave fluctuates with the tide. I didn't want it pulling you out into the sea while you were healing." Hermann stood again with a wobble, Newt turned to watch the man struggle. He didn't understand, this was not the Hermann he'd seen before.

"You kept me here while I healed?" Newt asked awake enough now to keep himself afloat and in place in the water. He looked around the cave, seeing it was clearly hand carved and man-made. He could hear the sea further down the dark cave tunnel, and up the way, from where Hermann was, there appeared to be a large storage space, crates and barrels were stacked high on pylons to keep them from the water when it rose. Newt noticed he was in a pool, too perfectly round to be natural, and Hermann had anchored him in the pool with a long bit of fabric tied to metal loops in the walls.

Hermann just nodded and tapped his cane on a long bundle beside the pool. "I'm afraid it isn't fresh, but I hopped the cold storage down here kept it from spoiling. Newt pulled himself over to the bundle and lifted the cover. He felt his stomach growl and he couldn't help the hungry face he made looking at the dead man in the bundle. He looked up at Hermann gratefully.

"Th-thanks," he said managing to keep himself from simply tearing the dead man apart. Hermann nodded.

"I was quite drained after the conflict with the Horror. I imagined you would be as well, especially when you didn't wake up until the day after." Newt blinked at the news. That explained a lot. "You were injured too. I tried to bind it, but I don't know much about Siren physiology."

Newt looked down at his side and saw a raw gash that was glazing over with the healing slime of his own body.

"It's fine, looks like I'm healing slowly, probably because I'm so hungry..." He looked at the body again. Hermann nodded.

"I'll leave you to it," he hobbled in place a moment. "Perhaps we can talk when you are full?"

Newt smiled brightly at Hermann. "Definitely!"

Hermann returned the smile and pointed at a rope pull near the pool.

"Just pull that, and I'll come back." He turned and went to the stairs. "Gutes Essen," he said before he left.

 

***

 

Newt basked in the pool like a fat sea lion, content with a full belly and his mind at ease. He'd been polite enough to take his leftovers to the mouth of the cave, hidden away for later. A whole adult human was too much for one Siren to eat, but he'd made a valiant effort. He'd never been that hungry before, and he knew it had everything to do with his overuse of powers and his wound. He gave himself one more moment to be a fat slob, then reached up to pull the rope Hermann had indicated. The jingle of a bell greeted him and he grinned wide. He loved it! A bell pull! He yanked it again, laughing at the cheerful clear sound of it.

He was still pulling it when Hermann clicked through the storage door.

"I meant for you to ring it once, Newt." He looked irritated and Newt let the pull go.

"We don't'...well we don't have bells where I'm from." Hermann chuckled.

"I suppose you don't," Hermann stopped to grab a small chair that he drug over to the pool, using it and the cane to help his progress. Newt watched fascinated.

"Why are you using a stick to walk?" Newt asked when Hermann lowered himself into the chair. Hermann looked briefly offended, then sniffed.

"I have a slight imperfection in my right leg," he said. "I have a need for it, during the day." Newt rested his elbows on the edge of his pool and looked up at Hermann.

"Why?" He asked openly curious. Hermann looked amused.

"Vampires are not as powerful in the daytime. We revert a bit back to our human selves, having some small power, but nothing like we do at night." Hermann leaned over, propping himself up with his cane to look down at Newt. Newt googled for a moment, struck by how different Hermann looked in the day. He wasn't as vibrant, he looked weary, but there was still a powerful presence behind his deep dark eyes. "I still have control of my domain, and I can still influence people with my will and few other parlor tricks. But no flying till the sun goes down I'm afraid."

"Does it hurt?" Newt asked, reaching out to touch the dark wood cane. Hermann raised his eyebrows.

"Not since I was alive. No." He seemed a bit touched at the question, Newt chuckled.

"When was the last time you were alive?" He asked, relaxing in the water, splashing softly with his tail. Hermann looked up at the movement, then sighed.

"Around the late 1600's I believe. My first wife died in childbirth and I was left to raise too many children on my own. It...took a toll on me I hadn't expected. Not long after I fell ill," he unconsciously rubbed at his imperfect leg. "It was around then that I found a way to transform myself, and the rest, is history." He looked back to Newt's face with a gentle smile. "Exact dates are hard to remember that far back."

"You...you  _ made yourself _ a vampire?" Newt was impressed. "I thought...can you do that?" Hermann smirked now, and it was wicked.

"Anything is possible with science, my dear Newt."

Newt felt himself blush. It was clear he found Hermann attractive already, but the devilish look the man had just now made him warm even in the cool water.

"What about...well, magic?" Newt asked feeling a little silly but pulling on the amulet that had survived the encounter with the Horror. "Those things, I don't think they are natural."

Hermann frowned slightly, then nodded.

"'Magic' is just another way of saying 'I don't know.' It if exists in the natural world, our world, then it must be part of the natural world. If it is part of the natural world, science can explain it, eventually. There are things, like those monsters and well, both of us, that defy our current understanding. It's fair to call it 'magic' as long as we understand eventually, it will be science."

Newt felt a little thrill as Hermann talked. It made him terribly excited to hear someone else saying his thoughts out loud.

"Exactly!" Newt said pushing himself up with his hands. "I tried to explain that to the elders and they simply shut me down! They have no interest in understanding why things work the way they do! If we knew, then we could replicate it! If we can replicate it, then we can potentially control it!"

"Yes," Hermann nodded emphatically. "Science is the art of knowledge, the only way to understand the world around us. If God gave us brains, then it's a sin not to use them! I for one will not be that sinner!"

"I don't know what God is, but I agree completely!" Newt laughed and Hermann chuckled and for a perfect moment, Newt felt like he'd finally met his match. The old stories spoke of such things, your other half, the one who completes you. His people didn't pair off as the humans did, it was impractical. But right now, Newt thought he could be like this forever, and never regret it.

"Hermann..." Newt looked down at this amulet as he held it in his hand. "If there...was some way, for me to...appear human...um..." He wasn't sure what he was asking, and Hermann just watched him like a hungry Fischadler tracking its prey.

"You can become human?" He asked softly. Newt looked up into dark eyes that made him feel hot again.

"Y-yeah...kinda." He held up the amulet. "Its part of the ancients' technology. When activated it will let me be human for a few hours at a time. Nothing permanent, but I can use it over and over after I let it recharge." Hermann slid a hand under the palm-sized disk and its simple design. His warm hand touched Newt's chest, and it made his tail twitch involuntarily. Hermann's gaze shifted from the amulet to his tail, then back to his face. There was definitely a hungry look in the vampire's eyes. "I won't  _ be  _ human, just look that way. I'll still be a Siren." his voice was soft like he was trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

"And you've done this before?" Hermann asked and Newt shook his head slowly. "You...have waited to test it?"

"Yeah, I wanted to be someplace safe," Newt swallowed hearing himself and thinking how lame was that? Hermann's lips twitched in a smirk.

"I think you will find that 'safe' is relative." He let the amulet drop back to Newt's chest and sat up straight, stretching his back. "I suggest waiting till nightfall. I will be strongest then, and should anything go wrong, I will be more able to assist you. Including being underwater without worry of drowning."

Newt blinked at that. "You can breath underwater?"

"No, but when I am in my full power, I don't need to breathe at all. In this halfway form, I can still experience the unpleasantness of dying, without actual death. I try to avoid it." He made a face indicating he'd not been as successful as he'd like. "Drowning is one of the worst."

"Oh wow, now I have so many questions!" Newt said, then pulled himself back. "But...it's rude isn't it?"

Hermann chuckled. "I suppose when it comes to two creatures such as ourselves, there's a lot of questions that appear rude that need to be asked. If we're going to continue to work together, we need to understand each other better. "

"Wait, you want to  _ work _ ...with  _ me? _ " Newt felt his heart flutter a little.

"Your notes are beyond impressive. They helped me figure out the best way to kill the Horror. If I hadn't had those, there's no telling how badly the other night would have gone. Thank you."

Newt felt like he was floating in perfect bliss. No one, not even Stacker on a good day, had ever complimented him like this. Hermann thought his research was good, found it valuable, wanted to do more of it.

"We still have a few hours before sundown. Perhaps we can spend it asking rude questions, and trying to understand one another?" Hermann offered. Newt couldn't help the stupid lopsided grin on his face.

"Hermann, I would love that."


	8. The Transformation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt finally gets to see what its like to have legs, Hermann gets to see everything else.

As Hermann felt the night descended, he smiled at Newt. The past few hours had been enjoyable, but he was eager to see how this amulet of Newt's would work...for purely research reasons. He stood up steadily and leaned his cane against the chair he'd been sitting in.

"I wonder if you're ready to try that amulet out?" He stretched. Newt watched him, excitement clear on his face.

"Is it night? I can't tell in here." Newt looked from the cane to Hermann, seeing the difference in his appearance and demeanor. Hermann knew there were subtle but noticeable changes in his appearance from day to night, frankly, there were changes mentally too. He felt better, clearer, more confident and able to focus.

"It is, and I will go fetch you some clothes to wear around the house." Hermann tried to gauge what would fit the Siren. It was impossible to tell how tall the man would be, and where Hermann benefited from a naturally trim frame, he hadn't failed to notice a slight softness to Newt. Perhaps a nightshirt and a robe this time? He could take measurements and have something made for later.

"Clothing!" Newt clapped his hands. "I've been so curious! They don't seem to be practical at all in the water. I can't wait to see what they're like!" He fingered the amulet. "I wore a man's shirt once, it was clingy and slowed me down in the water." Newt nodded as he fidgeted with the device. "You seem to be comfortable in them though."

"I'll bring you something less restrictive this time." Hermann smiled. "We can experiment from there."

"Yes!" Newt thrashed excitedly and it just made Hermann happy to see Newt so.

"I'll be right back," he said. Using his powers, he simply moved through the house like a dark mist, it was faster than walking and allowed him to pull a bit more around with him. He found his softest sleeping gown and a warm robe with bright embroidery on it and a pair of matching slippers. Hermann wasn't usually so taken with fashion and all the fuss of appearance, but Vanessa had been, and some of her culture and taste had rubbed off on him. He rushed back to the basement and Newt, rematerializing as Newt made an impressed noise.

"That was amazing!" Newt said. "Can you do that whenever you want? Can you carry someone with you? what's it feel like?"

Hermann chuckled and laid the clothes on the chair.

"All in due time, Newt. Right now we're concerned with the amulet." He came to kneel beside the pool, not concerned about the knees of his trousers getting wet. "Are you ready?" Newt looked up at Hermann and his perliecent skin flushed those pretty warm colors again. 

"Y-yes, th-thank you." Newt looked down for a moment and after a brief pause, he focused on the amulet. He pressed on one of the protruding points on the face of the amulet and he made a sharp  _ tisk _ sound. The tiniest drop of nearly purple blood glistened on the face of the amulet. Hermann noted that the sight of it triggered no hunger or desire in him. Apparently, he instinctively knew Newt wasn't human, and therefore not a food source. He wondered if there was any nutritional value for him in Newt's blood, then pushed the thought away as Newt's smeared the blood drop over the blue glass.

The amulet began to glow faintly. Newt seemed unconcerned. He pulled himself up on the wall of the pool so he was sitting on the edge, his tail still dipped in the water. He looked up at Hermann with an excited grin and a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Just be sure to take notes of everything that happens," Newt said. Hermann nodded, trusting his memory to take in the transformation. Then Newt's eager expression crumpled and he hunched over. "Oh! Oh hell!" He grabbed his midsection.

"Newt?" Hermann asked, placing a hand on Newt's shoulder. The Siren shook his head.

"G-growing pains!" He gritted out. "Manuscripts....said...fuck!" He doubled over and almost toppled into the water. Hermann pulled him back, holding him in place as his body began to change dramatically.

Hermann wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't witnessed it. Newt's slick, shark-like skin, smoothed out and became flesh. His beautiful scales appeared to pull themselves up into his skin and then his tail split in two, the lower fin bending and shorting to form feet and legs. Newt groaned and panted as the whole process happened, bowing at one moment and reaching behind him to grip Hermann's shoulders. Hermann wished he could say something useful like  _ it's alright, you're doing great, it's almost over, _ but he had no idea. He was just able to watch, and remember everything.

Newt arched again, his face pure agony, and Hermann saw why. Sirens, he knew kept their sex organs inside, both males and females. As a human though, Newt was growing a member, and embarrassed as Hermann thought it must be, it was fascinating to watch it develop, like a belly button that extended itself to a full-blown penis. When it was formed, Newt's body went slack. Hermann looked down at the man's new form and felt himself responding to the naked man in his arms.

_ Not now fool _ , he chided himself. He could feel Newt's heart pounding in his chest and his rapid breaths.

"Are you...alright?" He asked and Newt rolled his head slowly. "Are you in pain?"

"N-not really?" Newt painted. He blinked a moment, dazed. Then his brilliant eyes focused and he looked down his new body. "Oh wow," he said, releasing Hermann and running a shaking, talon free hand down his form. Hermann couldn't help how his eyes followed that hand down Newt's length. "H-hey," Newt chuckled weakly, "I got legs!"

Newt pushed himself upright and moved his new limbs experimentally. First together, then one at a time.

"Oh man, this feels so weird, does this feel weird to you?" Newt asked looking up at Hermann, "Uh...Hermann, a-are you ok?"

Hermann pulled himself back and shook his head to clear it. He had thought the Siren had been lovely to look at before he'd changed. Unusual and exotic. Now, he was outright starving with the desire to touch him.  _ Pull yourself together, man! _ He placed a hand over his own face, mastering himself. This was an experiment, not...foreplay.

"I'm fine, excuse me, It was just. Well. It was amazing to see the transformation."

"Was it? Tell me all about it!" Newt rolled himself over so he could face Herman, and his new knees struck the rock. "Ow!!" He cried out and grabbed for the new awkward joint. "Oh hell!"

 Hermann managed to save him from falling face first onto the stone floor.

"Perhaps a chair?" Hermann shifted, grasping Newt and slowly helping the man stand for the first time on his new legs. His look of pain evaporated as Newt found his footing. He looked at Hermann radiating excitement.

"This is so strange! Wonderfully strange!" He exclaimed, grasping Hermann's arms to keep himself upright. "Did it feel like this the first time you stood up too?"

"I can't recall," Hermann chuckled, so completely absorbed in Newt's wonderment. "I was probably two years old when I stood and took my first steps.

"Two!" Newt looked momentarily jealous. "I'll get the hang of it anyway."

"Yes of course. Just put one foot in front of the other, and try shifting your weight, that's it," It was easy to support Newt, he was almost a head shorter than Hermann. And though his chest was well built, Hermann saw he maintained his softness in his human body, a slight bulge on his hips, and a small pouch of a stomach. Hermann forced his attention away from Newt's bare ass. This was not the time.

Together they managed to get Newt to the chair, and took the clothes up when Newt sat down. Newt fidgeted in the chair, clearly unable to sit comfortably on the hard wooden surface.

"Wow...like sitting on a bunch of pokey rocks." He observed. "How did you do that for hours?"

"I suppose I've just used to it." Hermann chuckled, he couldn't help but find that funny. "Here, let's get you dressed before you get cold.

"Oh yeah, I just figured that was what it felt like."

"Well, yes but that's why we wear clothes up here," Hermann chucked and helped Newt into the sleeping gown, somewhat relieved when Newt's tempting, half hard member, was covered from view. He then presented the robe, and Newt actually sighed as the material embraced him.

"Ok, I get it," Newt said. "This feels so nice when it's not wet." He picked at the embroidery, and Hermann was pleased that the man found it interesting, as he'd hoped. 

"Well, most things up here will," Hermann said kneeling again to slip the slippers onto Newt's new feet. Newt gave a loud gasp, then giggled. Hermann let go immediately.

"I-it tickles," Newt said apologetically. Hermann shook his head and got the slippers on quickly, ignoring Newt's crotch.

"Am I...too much?" Newt said, looking down at Hermann and rubbing the soft robe nervously.

"Too much?" Hermann asked gazing up at him. Newt looked worried. "What do you mean?"

"You...won't look at me," he said softly and Hermann felt a hard clash of guilt and desire.

"That...I...you see..." Hermann took a deep breath. "I don't want to be selfish." He said as if that explained things. Newt's confused face clearly said it didn't. He took another steadying breath. "I want you to experience this as you wish, not how I want."

"How do you want to experience it?" Newt asked, his voice hushed again, and his crotch clearly showing what he was thinking. Hermann couldn't stop himself from looking at the white tent covering Newt's first erection. Newt looked down too and his hand brushed over the hard member. "This...feels strange." He said. Hermann felt his control slip.

"We should get out of here," he said, a soft growl in his voice. "I don't want...I want a better setting for this." He looked over at the stairs as Newt slipped his hand around his erection.

"I've seen the sailors do this," he said softly, his eyes going distant. "I can see why."

Hermann sucked in a ragged breath, then lay his own hand over Newt's.

"I promise, this will be better if we go upstairs." He leaned in, the need to kiss Newt suddenly too strong to resist. "Let me carry you," he said softly as he tenderly pressed his lips to Newt's. Newt whimpered against Hermann's mouth, and it only made Hermann intensify the kiss, his hand stroking Newt as his tongue glided into Newt's mouth. Newt clutched at Hermann's shirt, his hips rocking in the chair, his breathing ragged already. When Hermann broke the kiss Newt's mouth stayed open slightly, his tongue tasting his lips. "Ready?" Hermann asked and Newt nodded.

He scooped Newt up like a bride on her wedding night and let the mists of his power surround them.

"You wanted to know what my powers were like," he said softly looking at Newt, whose attention had snapped back. "Now you get a first-hand experience." Newt looked up excitedly and it made Hermann chuckle. He couldn't wait to show Newt all the things he could do.  


	9. In the Bedroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt and Hermann seal their partnership.

Hermann briefly thought about all the things he should be exposing Newt to before he exposed himself. It was a brief thought though, and Hermann was encouraged by Newt's seemingly eager nature. Still...

He materialized in the rarely used bedroom. He didn't need to sleep, and so only came here to dress and occasionally lounge in the soft bed reading. It had seen more use when Vanessa had been alive, but since her passing, it was merely a recreation room. 

"Wow," Newt was clinging delightfully to him. The shift in the mists had apparently frightened him and now Newt was pressed tight to Hermann. He could feel Newt's heartbeat, though the blood in his veins didn't call to Hermann. It made this whole experience more thrilling really. It was the first time since he'd changed that he could recall wanting someone for sheer desire, and not hunger mixed with desire. 

"Did you enjoy it?" He asked slowly stepping to the bed. 

"It was different," Newt said. "Though I think I prefer swimming." He looked around. "You can put me down, I want to try walking. Is that a bed?" Newt looked at each object in the room like he'd never seen them before. Which Hermann realized was entirely possible. Such mundane things looked exotic in Newt's eyes, and Hermann gently put him down to let him explore. 

Newt wobbled around the room, and Hermann made a mental note to get him a cane until he could walk properly. For now though, Newt stubbled to each piece of furniture, examining it as he clung to it. He was such a lovely sight, his long hair falling past his hips, his bright green eyes looking at everything his eager hands touched, his colorful beads highlighted against the white of the sleeping gown. He looked over at Hermann and just grinned. 

"I knew it was a good idea to wait to do this with you," he said and though Hermann knew what Newt meant, the underlying meaning made him sigh with need. He wanted to throw the smaller man on the bed and tear that gown from him. He refused to be that kind of beast. Let Newt explore, there was plenty of time for them to experiment with each other. "In the water, everything needs to be tethered or bolted down. Here, things just sit and wait for you to touch them." He poked a small silver box on the nightstand. It slid when he tapped it, but otherwise stay in place. Newt seemed immensely fascinated by that. "It just...stays there," he said to himself. 

Hermann chuckled and laid down on the bed to watch Newt poke around. He watched as Newt walked around the room twice before he came to the bed, breathing a little heavy.

"That's a workout," he said looking at Hermann. 

"Walking around the room?" Hermann asked sitting up. He supposed it might be if you'd never done it before. "Have you worn yourself out then?" He slid closer, something about the bedroom making him bolder. Newt blushed an actual blush that pinked his cheeks and ears. Hermann couldn't help his wolfish grin. The front of the gown jumped again. Newt put his hand on the bulge there. 

"What do you...call this?" Newt asked softly, stroking himself.

"Your cock, or what you're doing to it?" Hermann was close enough now he could kiss Newt. Newt just nodded. 

"My cock," he said softly, his eyes on Hermann's lips while he rubbed himself. "It's very sensitive. So are my legs, and my feet, but this..." He shivered with a soft sigh. 

"You are simply irresistible," Hermann said, pulling Newt to him for a long breathless kiss. When they parted Newt was fully erect, tenting the nightshirt. Hermann looked at Newt as his hand drifted slowly across his groin. He grinned widely, feeling Newt's arousal. He began pushing the nightshirt up, shuffling himself closer and between Newt's legs. 

"You're a little hard aren't you?" Hermann teased and Newt blushed crimson. He looked down watching as Hermann slipped his hand around his cock. "Are you enjoying the way I'm touching you?" Newt nodded, biting his lower lip with his sharp teeth. 

"My, my," Hermann whispered in Newt's ear clearly pleased with what he saw. Newt swallowed a soft moan, his breathing speeding up. "I hope you don't plan to share this beautiful cock with anyone else." Hermann began to slowly and tenderly kiss Newt's neck, stroking him so lightly, teasing soft whimpers from the Siren. His lips were parted and Hermann kissed them softly. The sounds Newt made right now were more intoxicating than any song the Siren had sung this far. 

Hermann's cock was aching, beyond hard and restrained in his own trousers. "Do you know what you are doing to me?" he asked, amused. Newt shook his head softly, meeting Hermann's dark eyes. Hermann took Newt's hand and placed it on his groin where he knew Newt could feel his erection. Smoothly coaxing Newt's hand back and forth over the large bulge, Hermann felt his cock throb and chuckled at Newt's reaction. His hand left Newt's thick cock and he trailed a finger up to Newt's jaw, gently pulling his eyes to face him. "Do you want to touch it?" 

Newt's lips trembling as he tried to speak, seeming to be at a loss for words. He just nodded instead, his body sliding up against Hermann’s, begging to be touched again. "You’re much more experienced than me," he whispered. “Please guide me?” 

Hermann smiled. He'd had a fair amount of time to experiment with lovers both male and female, during the times he felt sociable. Perhaps Newt's lack of humanity was what made him so attractive now. No stupid societal nonsense to deal with when it came to two men sharing a bed.

"Would you like to be told what to do? Like a lesson?" Hermann paused smiling as he studied Newt, his long hair giving him a womanish look. But his face was strong, round for man but still masculine, like his body and his plump ass. Newt looked to Hermann and nodded. Hermann felt a rush of excitement and power. Newt just gifting himself to Hermann like this, so trusting and sexy. It was a wonder he hadn’t popped out of his own trouser yet.

"Then first, why don't you undo my buttons and pull my cock out? Then you can feel it, and see how much I want you." 

Newt's eyes went wide with eagerness, and his hands made a grabby motion. Hermann took them and guided Newt's hands to the buttons of his trousers. Newt fumbled a moment, then managed to pop a few of them slowly. He was taking his time as if fascinated by how the mechanism of the buttons worked. Hermann chuckled, of course, Newt would get distracted with a button fly. 

"Do a few more," Hermann encouraged and Newt gave him an apologetic smile, then fully opened Hermann's trousers up. Hermann watched Newt's fascinated face as his hard cock was slowly revealed by Newt’s clever hands. Newt glided his hand over the shaft of Herman's cock experimentally. He squeezed drops of pre-cum from Hermann, making Hermann shiver deliciously as Newt explored the size and shape of him. "Such inquisitive hands," Hermann moned and Newt looked up at him, licking his lips. 

"Go on..." Hermann whispered lying back and relaxing. He sipped his trousers past his hips. "Do you want to see how it feels in your mouth? You can if you want, just no biting." He wagged a finger at Newt with a playful smile. Newt nodded then looked back down at Herman's cock, seeming lost as to where to start. 

"Just try giving it a kiss," Hermann said smiling mischievously. Newt looked up at him with an expression that said he clearly knew it wasn't going to be  _ just _  a kiss. That mature look made Hermann laugh. It was easy to forget Newt wasn't a fully formed adult. Hermann chided himself, he didn't even really know how old Newt was. It was entirely possible the man was older than him. 

"How do I...." Newt examined Hermann's cock like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. He leaned over it, and his tongue flicked across the top quickly. Hermann shivered and gave a breathy sigh.

"It's easier if you lay beside me," he said while patting the bed for Newt to lay against him. "Lay on your side, facing it." 

Newt moved to do as instructed, his legs rubbing along Herman’s side, and Hermann grinned. He could now see Newt's ass as Newt sucked his dick. Such a lovely sight, that untouched skin, his to pillage, eventually. His cock jumped in Newt's hand and Newt made a delighted nose. 

"It moves!" He said. 

"Sort of," Hermann chuckled. "It's bit more involuntary than you think."  He ran his hands up Newt's new legs, marveling at the feel of them. So soft, dusted with light brown hair. He wanted to run his tongue up them, kissing his way till he found Newt's ass. But that would have to wait. Right now Newt was panting and moaning, his lips just touching Hermann's shaft, and the sensation was making him crazy. He stopped his stroking and Newt looked at him. 

"D-don't stop," he said looking desperate. Hermann grinned. 

"But my dear, your lovely moans keep distracting me." He shifted his hips so his cock brushed against Newt's lips. His precum made it slide across Newt’s soft mouth. Newt opened it to let the head slip in, and his tongue lapped the head softly.  Newt adjusted his position alongside Hermann, parting his legs slightly so one hand could reach down to tug on his erect cock. This exposed him more fully to Hermann who moaned, reaching up to massage the soft orbs of Newt's ass.

"Hold me with your free hand," Hermann said, watching Newt stroke himself as he mouthed Hermann's cock. "Guide my cock into your mouth." Newt did as instructed and Hermann let his head fall back momentarily as he enjoyed the sensation of Newt's hot, wet mouth for the first time. "Dear god," he breathed squeezing Newt's ass. "Just like that." 

His hips flexed a little, pushing his cock into Newt's mouth with an encouraging groan. Newt seemed excited by this. He tugged on himself with more need now, curling one leg up onto Hermann's chest. Newt whimpered around a full mouth as Hermann continued to massage Newt's ass and thighs using both hands. 

"Stroke me while you suck me," Hermann instructed and Newt complied, nodding with each pump of his hand. Stroking the base of his cock, up and down, in time with his mouth. Saliva was running down Hermann's cock as Newt's mouth worked him, Newt briefly pausing to lick the head and tug gently on the foreskin. His whimpers and moans making the sensitive skin vibrate. Hermann just watched with lidded eyes, his hips jerking occasionally and Newt merely adjusted to take as much of Hermann as his mouth could hold.

"God that's good!" Hermann hissed, staring down Newt's body, his ass, his cock, his mouth full of Hermann's length. Hermann wanted more, wanted to take Newt a tad more roughly, but it was marvelous to watch Newt experience him. Newt pulled his mouth off Hermann's cock and looked down at him, his lips puffy and glistening. 

"Am I doing it right?" He panted, his hand still busy on his own cock. Hermann nodded.

"Yes, quite," Hermann reached down to guide himself back into Newt’s mouth, his hand curled over Newt’s. "Try a bit faster," he said watching as he fed his cock to Newt's eager mouth. Newt's eyes closed and his lips turned up in a smile as they wrapped around Hermann's dick. Hermann couldn't stop the hungry noises he was making, his hips pumping helpfully into that welcoming mouth. Even the light brushing of Newt's sharp teeth heightened the feel of his mouth. Hermann wanted this to last all night felt so good. 

He pulled his hand away as Newt began to jack him off again, making sloppy wet sounds as he sucked and pumped as fast as he could manage. Hermann adjusted slightly, bringing Newt's ass a bit closer to his face. He could watch Newt jerking himself in unison with his frantic head bobs. From the sounds, he was making and the tight position of his balls, Hermann could tell the Siren was close to his first orgasm. 

Hermann reached his hands up and began caressing Newt's ass, gently pulling his cheeks apart, stretching him slightly. He kneaded Newt's ass, shifting it side to side as he admired the tight ring that was the entrance to his core. Hermann licked his finger, wetting it before pressing it against the tantalizing puckered flesh. Newt tensed and his eyes flew open, his pumping stopped and he looked back at Hermann. 

"I won't hurt you," Hermann said easing the digit into the tight ring. "Trust me, I want you to feel good." 

Newt nodded, his mouth still full, his hand began to pump himself slowly as Hermann gently slid his finger in and out in time. Newt's thighs quivered, and Hermann held him open with one hand. His focus becoming soft as he watched himself finger fuck Newt for the first time. It was all so intense, he wondered which one of them would come first? 

Hermann slipped his finger around and around inside Newt, applying pressure on his most sensitive spot. Newt began moaning loudly on his cock. He sucked hard and cried, pumping his shaft urgently. Hermann felt Newt begin to loosen around the single digit and his head fell back briefly as sensations and experiences threatened to overtake him. He swallowed and fought for composure as Newt moaned around his head. Sweet mercy, he would not be undone first! He set his jaw with a determined twitch and started to slide a second finger alongside the first. 

Newt gasped out a cry as his body tensed, and Hermann watched as his balls spasmed. Newt's hips jerked as he fisted himself clumsily and hot cum coated Hermann's stomach as Newt came between them. Hermann pushed his fingers deeper, stroking them inside as Newt sobbed around his cock and thrashed against his body. It was finally too much, and Herman let himself go, his cock erupting in Newt's mouth.

He could feel Newt trying to swallow it all and still felt it dribbling down his shaft anyway. His eyes closed in liquid satisfaction as Newt licked his shaft now with slow lazy licks. His fingers stilled inside Newt as Newt squeezed Hermann, trying to wring every last drop he could from him. After a moment it was too intense, and Hermann withdrew his fingers to gently push Newt away. 

"You m-must s-stop, it's t-too much," Hermann shivered with each continued stroke, and felt a hot rush go through him as he realized Newt was looking at him! His green eyes were sex glazed but still keen on watching Hermann's reactions to his overstimulation. Dear god, he was a monster! An incubus bent on draining any sense Hermann had out his dick. 

"Does it hurt?" Newt asked, his voice a bit husky, and his look knowing. 

"N-no...y-yes..." Hermann let his head fall back. Other than throwing Newt off him, he couldn't think of a way out of this. Newt shifted so he was now straddling Hermann still stroking him. Then his other hand began to stoke Hermann's balls. Hermann shivered and fussed, his hands going to Newt's hips. All he could see was Newt's back now. 

"Your sack here," Newt said, almost conversationally, "It tightend up before your seed poured into my mouth."

"Y-yes...I'm a-aware," Hermann panted. "R-really this is....a bit m-uch." He gripped Newt's hips harder. It did hurt, but it also felt intensely good. The sensations clashed in his brain and made it hard to think. He felt Newt's hand drifting lower as he worked Hermann. 

"You're getting hard again," Newt said, and by god, Hermann could swear his tone was teasing! 

A s-side e-effect, I a-assure y-ou..." He jerked and shivered below Newt. He cried out helplessly as he felt Newt push his own finger against Hermann's ass. "W-what?"

"You did it to me," Newt said looking over his shoulder slyly. Hermann was sure now that Newt was aware what he was doing. "I want to see what it's like too." 

"Y-you're the devil," Hermann said and Newt grinned. His finger slid in and Hermann felt himself jerk in Newt's hand. The twin sensations shorting his brain, and he lay there letting Newt experiment with his body. 

"You're fully erect again," Newt bent over Hermann, presenting his ass. "Do it again, with your fingers," he begged. 

Hermann briefly thought of saying no, of pushing Newt off and running for the door. But Newt's ass looked so damn good. He gripped it again pulling Newt across his body till he could bury his face into Newt's ass. Newt gave a surprise cry as Hermann's tongue lathed against the sensitive skin.

"Is...is that your tongue?" He pushed back against Hermann, his pumping forgotten for the moment. "Hermann, oh!" He continued to moan as Hermann worked his tongue against and then into that still tight ring. His teeth grazed the soft flesh and Newt yelped. "Oh, Oh that! Be...ummm...c-careful?" 

Hermann chuckled and pressed his fingers back into Newt, fluttering the long digits as he licked the stretched hole. Newt rocked against him, whimpering and encouraging him. He began to stroke Hermann once more. The small break made the sensation not quite so intense and Hermann moaned against Newt's ass. He decided, if Newt could push him, he could push Newt, and slid a third finger in with the other two. Newt cried out, his body fluttering a moment. God, he was tight. Hermann thrust his fingers in time with Newt's pumps, feeling Newt's harding cock rubbing against his chest. 

"I'm,..I'm hard again Hermann," Newt said. Hermann smiled. Newt suddenly pulled himself away from Hermann's mouth, lifting himself up and looking between them, his cock dangling in the way. "If...if your fingers fit..." Newt said, he licked his lips and Hermann's cock jumped in anticipation. "Will your...cock fit too?" 

Hermann moved his jaw, loosening the joint up before he dared speak.

"Yes, though, it might be...a bit more intrusive than my fingers," Hermann said. Newt seemed to think about it, then nodded. 

"I want to try," he said softly. "It feels so good, I want to try." Hermann moaned loudly. 

"Are you certain?" He asked and Newt gave him a rueful smile.

"Fortune favors the bold," he said. 


End file.
